In food industry, vegetable creams are reconstituted oil-in-water emulsions formulated with a vegetable fat, emulsifiers and stabilizers. These creams are whipped to give a stiff and smooth product that is subsequently used for different applications in fine patisserie like fillings (choux, bavarois) or decorations on celebration cakes, etc.
Vegetable creams are used as alternative to dairy products like fresh creams and Chantilly. The exclusive use of vegetable fat gives products containing less fat and hence less calories and that are essentially free of trans fatty acids, cholesterol and lactose.
For the patisserie chef, vegetable creams can confer advantages compared to fresh dairy creams, which are a short whipping time, the tolerance to over-whipping, a constant overrun, the stability of the whipped creams against temperature, the sculptability and good mouthfeel and smoothness.
Two types of vegetable creams are currently produced: UHT (Ultra High Temperature) vegetable creams and pasteurized vegetables creams.
Pasteurized products are heated up to 90° C. These products are then packed and frozen for prolonged conservation. Before use, they have to be thawed. That means that a cake decorated with this whipped product should not be frozen. From a logistic point of view, it is very important to have a good controlled cold chain, and this limits the distribution to zones where such a cold chain can be assured.
Currently available UHT creams are sterilized by heating to 140° C. for a short time by injection of steam and packed in aseptic packages like Tetra Pak or bag-in-box. Such creams need to be stored under 20° C. to avoid destabilization (presence of lumps or hardening of the product).
Patent EP 1 662 899 B1 describes a protein-free UHT treated non-dairy vegetable oil-in-water emulsion for whipping comprising 20-30% fully hydrogenated fat of lauric origin, 10-25%, sweetener, stabilizers and emulsifier.
Patent application WO 2004/084 656 describes a non-dairy whippable food comprising at least 30% triglyceride fats, emulsifiers, stabilizers and proteins.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,117,473 discloses an oil-in water emulsion based on hydrogenated coconut and PKO oils being stabilized by gelatin and non-proteinic emulsifiers.
JP 2006/149 229 discloses an aerosol whipped cream based on fats or oils with a mean iodine value lower than 40, sucrose ester having a HLB lower than 7 and either sucrose ester or polysorbate having HLB higher than 10.
Today however all UHT vegetable creams that can be stored at room temperature, when packed for example in Tetra Pak, must be whipped at a low temperature, generally below 10° C., in order to obtain a good overrun. If the product is whipped at higher temperature the density is higher and the volume is lower. The industry is facing a logistic constraint and extra costs due to this additional cooling step.
There is therefore a need for vegetable creams that can be whipped not only at low temperature (e.g. at temperature lower than 10° C.), but also at temperature over 10° C., for example up to 25° C., which will facilitate the handling and the process.